Woman gets 11 years for fatal DUI crash -- her second fatal DUI crash in 20 years

On Monday, a York County judge ordered Julianne Fetrow to serve 11 to 30 years in state prison for causing a DUI crash that killed her boyfriend, Victor E. Wolf Jr. of Jackson Township. (Submitted)

For the second time in two decades, a York County woman has been sent to state prison for killing someone during an alcohol-fueled crash.

Julianne D. Fetrow must serve 11 to 30 years in prison for causing a crash on Nov. 28, 2007, that killed her boyfriend, Victor E. Wolf Jr., 52, of the 4800 block of Lincoln Highway West in Jackson Township.

Her blood-alcohol level at the time was 0.256 percent, police said -- more than three times the state's legal limit. In Pennsylvania, an adult is driving drunk at 0.08 percent.

In December, Fetrow, 44, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, DUI and driving with a DUI-suspended license.

A plea agreement negotiated by chief deputy prosecutor Tim Barker and defense attorney Rick Robinson came with a maximum possible sentence of 13 to 30 years. But presiding Common Pleas Judge John S. Kennedy was free to impose a shorter sentence.

On Monday, Kennedy imposed the 11- to 30-year sentence, noting Fetrow had asked about alcohol-addiction programs offered in the state prison system.

"We hope she will take advantage of those programs," Kennedy said. "There's no doubt in our mind that if Ms. Fetrow was not an alcoholic, the crash would not have occurred."

He also ordered her to pay $3,500 in fines, plus court costs.

The background: Northern York County Regional Police said Fetrow pulled out of Wolf's driveway and into the path of a tractor-trailer.

Wolf, a passenger in his Mercury Capri convertible, was pronounced dead at York Hospital, police said.

After the crash, Fetrow told police she and Wolf had been drinking a bottle of vodka at home, then left their home and drove around to do more drinking, police said.

"Julianne Fetrow stated she could not recall where she was going or how the accident occurred," court records state.

Barker has said the decision to charge her with murder, in addition to homicide by vehicle while DUI, was based on the fact that she has a long history of DUI charges and had already completed a court-ordered Alcohol Highway Safety program.

Killed fisherman: In 1991, Fetrow was ordered to serve 1-1/2 to three years in state prison for killing fisherman Morris Stanley, 55, of Camp Hill, on May 22, 1990.

York Dispatch articles from the time state that Fetrow was driving a car in Warrington Township that went off a bridge on Route 177 in Gifford Pinchot State Park, then hit Stanley, who was fishing with his two sons.

In that case, her blood-alcohol level was 0.226 percent, police said.

Fetrow has been charged with DUI in Pennsylvania five times, according to court records.

She had been free on bail for causing the crash that killed Wolf, but her bail was revoked in October 2008 because probation officers monitoring her discovered she had smoked marijuana, the judge noted Monday.

Ashamed: During her sentencing hearing, Fetrow turned to her dead boyfriend's family and apologized.

"I'm very ashamed and sorry that I have let my addiction cause (Wolf's death)," she said. "Since the accident killed Victor, I have had no desire to drink."

She said she accepts responsibility for his death and has taken advantage of addiction programs offered at York County Prison.

"At this point I can only (ask) for forgiveness and mercy," Fetrow said, vowing to prove it's possible to overcome addiction.